Research

We are exploring several fundamental aspects towards future generation nuclear (or radiological) imaging systems: (i) How to make room-temperature semiconductor (RTSD) materials and readout electronics working in harmony inside future radiation sensors? (ii) How to design future nuclear imaging systems (such as SPECT, PET and X-ray CT) to achieve an optimal efficiency for collecting useful imaging information? and (iii) How to combine multiple imaging modalities into a system that that can see things simultaneously in many different "colors", ideally covering a wide range across the EM spectrum – ranging from gamma rays (SPECT and PET), x-rays (CT), visible and near infrared photons (optical imaging), and all the way to RF radiations (MRI)? Please see below for several currently research projects:

Ultrahigh Resolution Imaging Sensors

Ultrahigh Resolution SPECT Systems

Combined Nuclear/MR Imaging Systems

Sub-500um Resolution PET Detector based on Pixelated CdZnTe Detectors

Synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence Emission Tomography (XFET)

Recent News

(July, 2011) The RDI group has opennings for 1-2 graduate student research assistants and a post-doctorial research associates to work on ...

(July, 2011) RDI to lead the effrot for developing an ultrahigh resolution SPECT system combined with a high-field (9 Tesla) MRI scanner. This project will be supported by a R01 grant from NIBIB, totaling ~$1.55M.

(July, 2010) Dr. Meng has recently been awarded a NIH R21 grant for carrying out research on X-ray fluorescence emission tomography (XFET). The objective of this project is to build a destop XFET imaging system that allows 3-D mapping of elemental distribution in volumetric samples.

(July, 2010) Dr. Meng is part of a research team, consisting of researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Washington University in St. Louis and the Harvard University, to develop highly-pixelated CdZnTe detectors for use in a hard x-ray telescope for the proposed EXIST mission.

For Perspective Students and Postdocs

What we do, potential research projects, future career oppotunities and application procedures ...